Siya Nhlapo grateful for eye-opening player transition programme
SuperSport United defender Siya Nhlapo has described the PSL Player Transition Programme as an eye-opener for him and encouraged fellow footballers to follow suit.
Nhlapo was amongst 64 PSL players who enrolled on the inaugural transition programme. The initiative is a brainchild of MultiChoice in partnership with the PSL and GIBS Business School.
It was launched for current PSL players aged between 28 and 35. The aim is to equip and empower players with skills to transition into a role in the sport after they have retired.
Out of the 64 players that enrolled, 27 of them graduated this past Monday. The graduation ceremony was attended by PSL Chairman Dr Irvin Khoza, MultiChoice representatives and family members of the graduates.
EYE OPENER FOR NHLAPO
“Obviously, I am closer to retirement in terms of age and in terms of my years left in football. They are not too many. I thought I know one thing about football. I can know one thing about being a football coach. But I know nothing about being in the corporate,” the 33-year-old explained to FARPost.
“I know nothing about being an event planner or facility management and all these other things that they were presented to us. So, this was an opportunity for me to learn what I don’t know or to be guided to something that might work for me that I never thought about.
“So, it was just an eye opener and being open-mindedness, and I think the drive of learning and being able to have multiple avenues once I am done in football, so that was something that captured me to join and want to complete the programme,” he said.
WHY THE PLAYER TRANSITION PROGRAMME
“What informed us to start this project is that, unlike other careers, retirement in football normally occurs early in life. It presents them with a challenge when they enter the new period of their lives because some don’t know what to do other than soccer,” senior manager of transformation and CSI at Multichoice Boniswa Dlamini explained.
So, it was really to equip them with the relevant skills that they need. We are going to continue to do phase two as a company and our partners GIBS and the PSL as well. This time we will divide and design a criteria that will encourage many players,” she said.
The key skills that are part of the programme include:
-Communication
-Emotional Intelligence
-Organisation
-Project Management
-Reporting Skills
-Innovation
-Adaptability
-Analytical Mindset
-Time Management
-Leadership
-Business Fundamentals
-Information Technology
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